NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION (NAO) AND TOXIC PHYTOPLANKTON IN THE SKAGERRAK

The analysis of a long-term time series data set of chlorophyll-a and toxic phytoplankton species, suggested that the occurrence of toxic phytoplankton blooms in the Skagerrak may be related to changes in the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The application of nonlinear time series models to phytoplankton dynamics may allow to understand further the role played by climatic and environmental forcing in relation to the formation and duration of harmful algal blooms.